DISCLAIMER: This Runaways recap contains more spoilers than the number of times Chase has a shirtless weight lifting scene. He sure loves to lift weights while shirtless. You’ve been warned. Brace yourselves for The Pride meeting and proceed with caution. 

Welcome back, members of The Pride! Runaways came, saw and conquered our TV streaming experience with a third installment of the Hulu freshman series. So, what does a group of ragtag teens do after discovering their parents are super villains? Continue to delve ever deeper into why they’re super villains. Was Destiny Gonzalez really murdered before their eyes? Or is she safe and sound in Foggy London Town? 

Alright, ready to dive into “Destiny?” Just be sure a comfortable cushion is near Molly at all taimes. She’s prone to sleeping spells post-super strength exertion. 

We open with a flashback – a melancholy funeral scene from a decade ago. We see members of The Pride carrying a pair of caskets to their respective burial plots. Then, a preacher delivers touching parting words for the deceased. Stacey Yorkes (Brigid Brannagh) is seen weeping into the shoulder of husband Dale (Kevin Weisman), while a small Molly Hernandez (Evelyn Angelos) looks on. This is the funeral of her parents. 

Later, a wake takes place. We see our much smaller Runaways playing together while Molly sits in the corner, wheelchair bound. Then, Geoffrey Wilder (Ryan Sands) approaches Robert Minoru (James Yaegashi) regarding his suspicions of Tina’s (Brittany Ishibashi) involvement in the Hernandez’ deaths. We see Tina is attempting to hide a bandaged hand. The Hernandez couple died in a fire, supposedly. Robert, naturally, vehemently denies his wife’s involvement. 

Next, Stacey and Dale are seen talking in the kitchen. Stacey is fearful that the others will discover the Yorkes’ indirect involvement in the Hernandez’ deaths. They were the last to speak with the deceased. Uh oh. This mystery just gets stickier and stickier. So much intrigue! Then, the Yorkes approach young Molly and inform her that they would like to adopt her. Molly eagerly accepts. 

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Flash forward time! Present day Molly (Allegra Acosta) is frantically searching for her cat beret. We know where it is, Molly! Gert (Ariela Barer) pops in to check on her sister. Molly informs Gert that her mother gave her that clip. Then, Molly decides to confide in Gert of the significant changes she’s going through. Gert mistakes said changes for panic attacks and explains that they’re perfectly normal to experience (albeit scary). Well, Molly’s bodily changes are a little more complicated than that…

Pictured: Allegra Acosta

Meanwhile, Karolina (Virginia Gardner) is meditating via her mother’s meditation app. Gibborim be praised! Speaking of which, Leslie Dean (Annie Wersching) pays her daughter a visit. She’s beaming with pride (get it?) at Karolina’s meditating of her own volition. Suddenly, Karolina receives a text from Destiny, and she makes a beeline for the door. 

Later, Alex (Rhenzy Feliz) meets up with our gang at the beach. Chase (Gregg Sulkin) is also present, alongside Gert and Molly. Nico (Lyrica Okano) makes her grand entrance dressed head to toe in black. Did I mention that Nico is my Gothic soul sister? Move over, Amy Lee, because a new Queen is in town. Anyway, last but not least to appear is Karolina, who excitedly shares Destiny’s text with the group. A picture of the young woman is present along with text detailing her extended stay in London. See? Problem solved! She wasn’t killed after all! 

Pictured (L to R): Virginia Gardner, Gregg Sulkin, Allegra Acosta, Rhenzy Feliz, Lyrica Okano and Ariela Barer

However, perhaps this whole thing is a cover up. Alex proposes they do some digging of their own and “let cooler heads prevail.” I like this kid. He can stay. Anyway, our protagonists decide to split up and search their respective parents’ houses for clues. Karolina will sniff around the Church of Gibborim. Nico will study her mother’s circular scepter. Alex will Nancy Drew his father’s study. Molly believes the gang should be checking out the seemingly domesticated dinosaur in her family’s basement, but the remainder of the crew laughs it off. She storms off in a huff. Lastly, Chase and Gert decide to search the Stein lab. Go, team, go!

Meanwhile, Victor Stein (James Marsters) is in his lab, hard at work. He hears Destiny’s pleas to allow her escape. Then, we see Destiny herself (Nicole Wolf) standing behind him, muddied up and quite disheveled. Victor wakes up, startled. Janet (Ever Carradine) is looming over him, reminding her husband that they have an event to attend. No rest for the wicked, huh Victor?

Next, we see Robert and Tina surprise the Yorkes at their company. Party time! After all the cake and merriment, the Minorus leave. Tina proposes that they go on a date that evening. You know, for old time’s sake. Robert reticently agrees to it. Emphasis on “reticently.” Someone’s marriage is on the rocks. 

Then, we catch up with Gert and Chase in the Stein lab. Gert discovers a pair of X-ray goggles that she promptly dons. Of course, she inadvertently sneaks a peek at Chase through said goggles…and all his under clothes bits. They constantly throw quips at each other. I don’t normally use this term, but I “ship” it. They’re adorable together, plus Sulkin and Barer have electric chemistry. Anyway, then our duo stumbles upon Victor’s pod – the very same that Destiny disappeared into. However, Gert can see that Destiny herself is no longer in said pod. Gert convinces Chase to check out the dinosaur Molly was raving about. He agrees to join her. 

Action shot! Side note: I need Gert’s outfit now.

Next, we visit the Wilder residence. Geoffrey shows Catherine (Angel Parker) Molly’s clip. Thus, suspicions of the kids witnessing The Pride ritual are once again aroused. Catherine offers to interrogate Molly before throwing accusations. Use your lawyer powers! 

Meanwhile, Robert tries to convince Nico to join him and Tina for a family date. Nico politely declines, citing that her parents need to go on an actual date more than anything. Once they leave, Nico scurries off to her mother’s study and retrieves the scepter. 

Later, Catherine finds Molly at a coffee shop. The latter appears to be studying. Catherine calmly grills Molly on her whereabouts the night before after giving the young girl her hair clip. Molly excuses herself to the restroom, citing feminine problems. Once in the bathroom, Molly unhinges the toilet and uses it as a step stool. She then parts the metal bars in the window and pulls on said bars, eliminating the window entirely. Molly is my hero. She clambers outside and promptly falls asleep next to a dumpster. Super strength is tiresome stuff. 

Next, Alex is sniffing around his father’s study when Geoffrey texts him about arriving home soon. Alex turns the fake coasters on his desk so the entrance to the evil lair appears. However, Geoffrey is already in the house and on the hunt for Alex. Alex quickly tries to close said entrance, but eventually resorts to physically closing it with his hands. Thankfully, Geoffrey pinpoints him after all this is fixed. Yay for close calls! 

Pictured: Rhenzy Feliz and Virginia Gardner

Then, Catherine finds Molly passed out by the dumpster. Later, our Super Girl wakes up in Catherine’s car. Molly then fabricates a story about how she was tasked with raiding Geoffrey’s liquor cabinet for the older kids, and that’s how her clip ended up in his study. Of course, we know the truth. Catherine sits with a needle at her side, ready to inject our girl with something probably meant to induce a memory wipe. Or a truth serum. However, she stands down after Molly’s explanation, which apparently made the grade. Then, Catherine reveals to Molly that her parents were members of The Pride, and she’d be more than happy to dish on more details someday. Don’t do it, Molly, it’s a trap!

Meanwhile, Nico is currently enthralled by her mother’s scepter. It lights up in her hands. Nico stumbles upon her sister Amy’s diary in Tina’s desk. While rummaging through it she extracts a paper snowflake of Amy’s. Suddenly, the room fills with authentic, lily white snow. Such a rarity in Southern California!

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Later, it’s Minoru Date Night! Tina attempts to put all the moves on Robert. She even slips off her panties and alludes to a hotel room she snagged nearby. Someone’s ready to rekindle that romance! However, Robert gives it all a hard pass. Tina shut him out for two years following Amy’s death. Now she wants to restart the fire? Robert brusquely departs and takes a cab home, leaving her alone in the restaurant. I can’t help but feel pity for Tina right now. 

Then, Karolina is caught by Vaughn (Cody Mayo) in the church offices. Curse you, Vaughn! Seriously, that guy is everywhere. Omnipresent, if you will. Anyway, she asks him about Destiny. He reveals that she is indeed in London for an extended stay. Then, the two begin talking about their Gibborim friendship bracelets. When Vaughn takes his off, nothing happens. However, when Karolina takes hers off she sees bright lights everywhere. Someone is developing powers!

Later, Nico calls Alex over to help her with her snowy situation. They attempt to clean up the icy mess as the smart house reveals that Tina is on her way home. Did no one learn anything from the Disney Channel Original Movie Smart House

Meanwhile, we see Stacey and Dale grabbing some munchies at a food truck. They also decide to grab 50 tacos for Dino (my pet name for the dinosaur in their basement). I imagine that bill must be sky high. Also, I’m currently jealous of a fictional dinosaur and his impending taco dinner. 

Then, we see something truly shocking. Janet and Robert stumble into a house together and commence sexy fun times. What? Turns out Robert was finding solace elsewhere whilst Tina shunned him for two years. 

Later, after Nico and Alex finish cleaning up the study and putting the scepter away, they head upstairs to Nico’s room. Nico snags Amy’s diary. Once inside the bedroom, Nico takes off her top and straddles Alex. Her plan is to utilize their “lovemaking” as a distraction for Tina. Then, Tina walks in on the two “lovebirds.” She scoffs at the display and demands Alex go home. Before hopping into his car, Alex plants a kiss on Nico. She reminds him that their little staging was fake, but as she walks away we see her smile. She enjoyed that kiss. Get it, girl!

Pictured: My Gothic Queen, Tina Minoru.

Next, we see Robert and Janet post sexy fun times. Robert reveals that he bought the house for him and Janet. He’s ready to confess everything to Tina and move on with his life. Janet is reticent. She doesn’t want Chase to get caught up in all this. She tells Robert she’ll think about his offer, which is most likely code for “no.” Plus, Victor would be a formidable opponent. 

Meanwhile, Gert and Chase are in the Yorkes’ basement. Chase is now sporting the X-ray goggles. He opens the door to where the dinosaur dwells. Suddenly, said dinosaur shoots past him in a blur. Chase and Gert hold on to each other as Dino turns on them. Gert begins feverishly chanting under her breath, which somehow calms down our Dino. He responds to her voice. However, the effect is short lived. Dino escapes the house. Free at last! 

Then, Leslie pays her decrepit father a visit. She’s utterly dismayed that the ritual didn’t take hold. He looks exactly the same as before. Her phone rings, and we see Tina is on the other end. Tina urges Leslie to turn on the news. Destiny’s body was found washed ashore. Newscasters are encouraging people to step forward with information on her murder. Uh oh. Leslie murmurs that they’ll have to give yet another sacrifice. This isn’t over yet. 

Runaways is finally starting to take off, and this episode was proof of that. There’s intrigue surrounding the death of Molly’s parents, the marital affair between Robert and Janet, not to mention the roaming dinosaur and Destiny’s death. So many questions! Runaways is so adept at building suspense and establishing these characters. Yes, the cast is huge, but I can appreciate that we know who all of them are in the grand scheme of things. 

Do you think Victor killed Destiny after finding her alive in the pod? It would lend itself to his vivid dream of her. How long before Victor and Tina discover Robert and Janet’s lusty affair? Will all of Los Angeles discover the dinosaur in their midst? Did Molly inherit her powers from her parents, and just how was Tina involved in their deaths? Join me next time as I continue to recap Runaways here on Geek Girl Authority. 

Runaways airs Tuesdays at midnight on Hulu. 

 

Melody McCune
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